The city of Grand Rapids launched a youth employment program aimed at providing jobs for 1,000 young people.

GRow1000: Employing 1000 GR youth for a brighter tomorrow is designed for Grand Rapids residents ages 15 to 21. The city is home to more than 9,000 residents in this age group.

The program is a collaborative effort between the city and local businesses and organizations. Participating organizations will offer young people 120-hour work experiences over six weeks starting July 13.

Youth participants will earn $10 an hour for 20 hours each week. They will have the opportunity to earn up to $1,500 during the program, which goes through Aug. 21. To participate, individuals must meet the following basic requirements:

• Be between 15 and 21 years old as of July 22
• Live in the city of Grand Rapids
• Be eligible to work in the U.S.

The city will prioritize youth applicants from the 49503, 49507, 49508 and 49509 ZIP codes, as these areas have been most heavily impacted by disproportionate outcomes, including COVID-19.

Continue reading at GRBJ…

MW Industries Inc., a manufacturer of precision metal components, has been playing a role in the supply chain for ventilators and other medical devices needed in the COVID-19 pandemic response. All of its locations have remained open to support the needs of its clients in every industry, including the following medical device industry support described below:

Tri-Star Industries, a manufacturer of precision threaded inserts for plastic applications, has stepped up production in its Berlin, CT, location to meet demand from the largest ventilator manufacturers in the world.
RAF Electronic Hardware, in Seymour, CT, a supplier of precision metal fasteners and components for medical equipment such as ventilators, air filtration and medical imaging systems, has been able to design, manufacture, and ship parts in a matter of days to keep production lines up and running.
Century Spring Corp. in Commerce, CA, a source of springs such as stainless-steel compression springs for both ventilator R&D and production volumes, has maintained inventories to ship same-day and supported medical OEM and contract manufacturers as they have scaled up production of ventilators.
Servometer, in Cedar Grove, NJ, manufactures several bellows used in critical ventilator applications.
Economy Spring & Stamping, in Southington, CT, used additive manufacturing to address a shortage of PPE masks at a Connecticut hospital, delivering the first batch of 3-D printed masks in under a week.
[Image courtesy of MW Industries]

MW Industries Inc.Autocam Medical
Autocam Medical, a global contract manufacturer of precision-machined surgical instruments and other device components, has been manufacturing a new ventilator splitter with individual pressure capability. The company has been collaborating with researchers at the University of Michigan to develop VentMI, moving from prototype to a part available for use in under a month, it reported in a news release.

“We’re extremely grateful to have been asked to participate in the creation of this vital new product,” said John Kennedy, CEO of Autocam Medical, in a statement. “And we’re very proud of our team’s ability to go from prototype through manufacturing, engineering, to finished product in a matter of days to help meet this crucial need for the healthcare community.”

Autocam Medical reports that the new splitter was “conceived only weeks ago” by Dr. Kyle VanKoevering of the Department of Otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at Michigan Medicine and an associate faculty member in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. VentMI overcomes a previously critical limitation for shared use of these devices. The new splitter enables individual pressure capability, whereas previous splitters could deliver only one pre-set pressure to patients.

The new splitter was designed, prototyped, tested, and received FDA Emergency Use Authorization; Autocam Medical, which was mobilized to implement Design for Manufacturing (DFM) processes, has been manufacturing the VentMI.

A new company formed by U-M inventors, MakeMedical LLC, has licensed the technology from U-M and will provide VentMI at cost to other institutions, it was reported in the release. Autocam Medical is providing its manufacturing services at cost, as well. Said Owen Tien, CEO of 3-D printing company Thingsmiths, a co-developer of VentMI and co-founder of MakeMedical: “Autocam Medical’s professionalism, speed, and quality of work is world-class. Their ability to move our components beyond 3D-printed prototypes has resulted in a product we can stand behind, and we are proud to partner with them.”

Continue reading at MD & DI…

Researchers at the University of Michigan, collaborating with Autocam Medical, have tackled the COVID-19 crisis of potential ventilator shortages globally and developed VentMI in remarkable time – from prototype to available for use in under a month. This new ventilator splitter overcomes a previously critical limitation for shared use of these devices. Previous splitters could deliver only one pre-set pressure to patients even though each patient requires a unique pressure tailored to their lung size and degree of disease. Excessive volume or pressure can cause lung trauma, thereby limiting the ability to share a ventilator.

Conceived only weeks ago by Dr. Kyle VanKoevering of the Department of Otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at Michigan Medicine and an associate faculty member in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, the new splitter was designed, prototyped, tested, and received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the FDA. In less than a week, Autocam Medical was mobilized to implement design for manufacturing (DFM) processes and started manufacturing the VentMI. Autocam Medical is poised to produce hundreds of the new device.

A new company formed by U-M inventors, MakeMedical LLC, has licensed the technology from U-M and will provide VentMI at cost to other institutions. Autocam Medical is providing its manufacturing services at cost, as well. Of significant note, the VentMI costs only one-hundredth that of a new ventilator, thereby helping to reduce vent costs into the future as well.

Continue reading at Today’s Medical Developments…

Researchers at the University of Michigan, collaborating with Autocam Medical, have tackled the COVID-19 crisis of potential ventilator shortages globally and developed VentMI in remarkable time – from prototype to available for use in under a month. This new ventilator splitter overcomes a previously critical limitation for shared use of these devices. Previous splitters could deliver only one pre-set pressure to patients even though each patient requires a unique pressure tailored to their lung size and degree of disease. Excessive volume or pressure can cause lung trauma, thereby limiting the ability to share a ventilator.

Conceived only weeks ago by Dr. Kyle VanKoevering of the Department of Otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at Michigan Medicine and an associate faculty member in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, the new splitter was designed, prototyped, tested, and received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the FDA. In less than a week, Autocam Medical was mobilized to implement design for manufacturing (DFM) processes and started manufacturing the VentMI. Autocam Medical is poised to produce hundreds of the new device.

A new company formed by U-M inventors, MakeMedical LLC, has licensed the technology from U-M and will provide VentMI at cost to other institutions. Autocam Medical is providing its manufacturing services at cost, as well. Of significant note, the VentMI costs only one-hundredth that of a new ventilator, thereby helping to reduce vent costs into the future as well.

“We’re extremely grateful to have been asked to participate in the creation of this vital new product,” comments John Kennedy, CEO of Autocam Medical. “And we’re very proud of our team’s ability to go from prototype through manufacturing, engineering, to finished product in a matter of days to help meet this crucial need for the healthcare community.”

Continue reading at Today’s Motor Vehicles…

Kentwood-based Autocam Medical partnered with researchers at the University of Michigan and a 3D printing company to develop a device that allows ventilators to safely treat two patients at once.

The partners tackled the global shortage of ventilators by developing VentMI from prototype to market in under a month.

The device is a new ventilator splitter that “overcomes a previously critical limitation for shared use of these devices.” Previous splitters could deliver only one pre-set pressure to patients, which was problematic because each COVID-19 patient requires a unique pressure tailored to their lung size and degree of disease, according to Autocam Medical. Excessive volume or pressure can cause lung trauma, thereby limiting the ability to share a ventilator, the company said.

Conceived a few weeks ago by Dr. Kyle VanKoevering, of the department of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at U-M’s Michigan Medicine and an associate faculty member in the school’s department of biomedical engineering, the new VentMI splitter has been designed, prototyped, tested and received emergency use authorization (EUA) from the FDA.

Autocam Medical was mobilized to implement design for manufacturing (DFM) processes and started manufacturing the VentMI.

Continue reading at GRBJ…

Researchers at the University of Michigan, collaborating with Autocam Medical, have tackled the COVID-19 crisis of potential ventilator shortages globally and developed VentMI in remarkable time—from prototype to available for use in under a month. This new ventilator splitter overcomes a previously critical limitation for shared use of these devices. Previous splitters could deliver only one pre-set pressure to patients even though each patient requires a unique pressure tailored to their lung size and degree of disease. Excessive volume or pressure can cause lung trauma, thereby limiting the ability to share a ventilator.

Conceived only weeks ago by Dr. Kyle VanKoevering of the Department of Otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at Michigan Medicine and an associate faculty member in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, the new splitter was designed, prototyped, tested and received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In less than a week, Autocam Medical was mobilized to implement Design for Manufacturing (DFM) processes and started manufacturing the VentMI. Autocam Medical was poised to make hundreds of the new devices before the end of April.

Continue reading at MPO…